African American Dramatists: An A-to-Z Guide

by Emmanuel S. Nelson (Editor)

Overview

Despite their significant contributions to the American theater, African American dramatists have received less critical attention than novelists and poets. This reference offers thorough critical assessments of the lives and works of African American playwrights from the 19th century to the present. The book alphabetically arranges entries on more than 60 dramatists, including James Baldwin, Arna Bontemps, Ossie Davis, Zora Neale Hurston, and Richard Wright. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a summary of the playwright's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.

African American dramatists have made enormous contributions to the theater and their works are included in numerous editions and anthologies. Some of the most popular plays of the 20th century have been written by African Americans, and high school students and undergraduates study their works. But for all their popularity and influence, African American playwrights have received less critical attention than poets and novelists. This reference offers thorough critical assessments of more than 60 African American dramatists from the 19th century to the present.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313322334
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/30/2004
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	7.26(w) x 10.06(h) x 1.22(d)

About the Author

EMMANUEL S. NELSON is Professor of English at the State University of New York, Cortland. His many books include African American Authors, 1745-1945 (2000), Contemporary African American Novelists (1999), African American Autobiographers (2002), and Contemporary Gay American Poets and Playwrights (2003), all available from Greenwood Press.

Table of Contents

Preface
Ira Aldridge (1807–1867)Linda M. Carter
James Baldwin (1924–1987)Robin Jane Lucy
Amiri Baraka (1934– )Darcy A. Zabel
Marita Bonner (1898–1971)Loretta G. Woodard
Arna Bontemps (1902–1973)Linda M. Carter
William Blackwell Branch (1927– )Laverne Luster
William Wells Brown (1814–1884)Linda M. Carter
Elizabeth Brown-Guillory (1954– )Loretta G. Woodard
Ed Bullins (1935– )Ladrica Menson-Furr
Ben Caldwell (1937– )Cristi A. Fox
Vinnette Carroll (1922–2002)Kimberly K. Harding
Pearl Cleage (1948– )Gwendolyn S. Jones
Kathleen Conwell Collins (1942–1988)Chandra Tyler Mountain
J(oan) California Cooper (?– )Tarshia L. Stanley
Kia Corthron (1962– )Deborah Gleason-Rielly
Ossie Davis (1917– )Lean'tin L. Bracks
Thomas Covington Dent (1932–1998)James L. Hill
Owen Dodson (1914–1983)Louis J. Parascandola
Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson (1875–1935)Loretta G. Woodard
Lonne Elder III (1931–1996)Justin Brodeur
Rudolph Fisher (1897–1934)Helen R. Houston
J. e. Franklin (1937– )Ymitri Jayasundera
Charles Gordone (1925–1995)Yolanda W. Page
Shirley Graham (1896–1977)Leela Kapai
Micki Grant (1941– )Kimberly K. Harding
Angelina Weld Grimké (1880–1958)Terry Novak
William Harrison Gunn (1934–1989)Jessie N. Marion
Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965)Loretta G. Woodard
Leslie Pinckney Hill (1880–1960)Valleri Robinson Hohman
Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins (1859–1930)Terry Novak
Langston Hughes (1902–1967)Karl L. Stenger
Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)Rhonda Harvey
Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880?–1966)Loretta G. Woodard
Samuel L. Kelley (1948– )Joel Shatzky
Adrienne Kennedy (1931– )Steven Carter
May Miller (1899–1995)Joyce Russell-Robinson
Ron Milner (1938–2004)Freya M. Mercer
Loften Mitchell (1919–2001)Harish Chander
Barbara Molette (1940– )Gwendolyn S. Jones
Richard Bruce Nugent (1906–1987)Linda M. Carter
Robert O'Hara (1970– )Johnny Woodnal
OyamO (1943– )Rochell Isaac
Suzan-Lori Parks (1964– )Sharon M. Brubaker
Louis Stamford Peterson (1922–1998)James L. Hill
Aishah Rahman (1937– )Suzanne Hotte Massa
Willis Richardson (1889–1977)Harish Chander
Sonia Sanchez (1934– )Sharon Glazier Hochstein
Victor Sejour (1817–1874)Ladrica Menson-Furr
Ntozake Shange (1948– )Carrie J. Boden
Ted Shine (1931– )Joyce Russell-Robinson
Anna Deavere Smith (1950– )Kimberly Rae Connor
Eulalie Spence (1894–1981)Yvonne Shafer
Wallace Thurman (1902–1934)Linda M. Carter
Eugene (Jean) Pinchback Toomer (1894–1967)Emma Waters Dawson
Joseph A. Walker (1935– )Emmanuel S. Nelson
Douglas Turbaner Ward (1930– )Kristina A. Clark
Samm-Art Williams (1946– )Rochell Isaac
August Wilson (1945– )Karen C. Blansfield
Charlayne Woodard (1955– )Christine M. Lemchak
Richard Wright (1908–1960)Robert Felgar
Marvin X (1944– )Michael E. Idland
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Gr 9 Up-Sixty-one African-American playwrights are profiled, from actor/abolitionist Ira Aldridge to Black Arts/West theater founder Marvin X. The variety of entries provides a historical perspective of African-American theater by including artists like Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson, who performed in local churches and community halls in the late 1800s, to current award-winning Broadway artists such as Suzan-Lori Parks. Each entry includes a biographical profile, "Major Works and Themes," "Critical Reception," and bibliographies of the playwrights' works and author analysis. Footnotes identify the source of the excerpted critical reviews. Noted playwrights such as August Wilson and Amiri Baraka have lengthier entries in which individual plays such as Jitney and Dutchman are discussed in detail, and in context of the author's evolution in African-American theater. Acclaimed Harlem Renaissance playwrights such as Wallace Thurman, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston are included, as well as Arna Bontemps, Ron Milner, and Richard Bruce Nugent. Overall, these up-to-date narratives are readable and engaging, providing important critical analysis for students, particularly for lesser-known artists now finding their place in history.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal